The present invention relates to an apparatus and process for tightening, installing or screwing a screw connection and, more particularly, to an apparatus for tightening or screwing a screw connection comprising a screwdriver device including a drive motor and a screwdriver spindle, a control device for controlling a torque, rotation speed, rotation angle, rotation direction, advance and/or tightening time of the screwdriver spindle and an operating device which includes an input and/or output device for setting up a predetermined tightening process program which is assembled in a modular manner from individual tightening program steps and which is used by the control device to control the screwdriver device. It also relates to a process including at least two steps for tightening or screwing a screw connection using this apparatus.
A screwdriver device is already known from German Patent Document DE 38 37 942 A1, in which the tightening or screwing process is composed from an arbitrary combination of tightening or screwing process steps by an operator. The screwing steps are input by an input device into a program memory, arranged in sequence in a tightening or screwing process program and are processed one after the other by the screwdriver controller. Listing the program result in extensive screwing or tightening programs, which are not easily understandable because of the sequential arrangement of tightening steps, especially with program branching steps. Changes or additions to the tightening or screwing process programs can be subsequently performed only with great effort or expense.